My Crumbling Love Life
by DemonRider404
Summary: Max and Fang are madly in love, but when Dylan shows up, things get difficult, and Fang sets out to leave. Can Max get him to stay, for her sake, if nothing else? And what dirty little secret has Dylan been keeping about Angel?
1. Epic Fail

**Disclaimer: I do not own Max and company. If I did, she and Fang would have be married and vacationing in Jamaica by the third book. And by the fourth, they would have had kids. And Dylan would never have existed. But...none of that has happened, so I do not own Maximum Ride. All rights belong to James Patterson. This story is non-profit. Enjoy!**

My (Crumbling) Love Life

**Chapter 1: Epic Fail**

I was, once again, trying to break up a fight between Fang and Dylan. Dylan had gotten a little too close to me and Fang had yelled at him. Dylan had yelled back, and the argument had began. I had been trying to intervene for almost five minutes now, and I was on the verge of hitting them both over the head.

"I told you not to touch her!" Fang yelled.

"Well, she IS my soulmate!" Dylan snapped back.

"You wish! Max is MINE!"

"Not on your life, bird-boy!"

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black!"

"You guys..." I tried to intervene again. I finally gave up and slapped them both over the head.

"Ow!" they called. "Max?" Fang said, "When did you get here?"

"I've been here, listening to you two argue pointlessly for the past five minutes."

"Oh."

There was a silence, until Angel said, "Dylan's having dirty thoughts."

"Shut up!" Dylan said, blushing.

_**Dylan's right, you know.**_

Oh, no. Not the voice.

_**You are his soulmate.**_

_ But, what if I don't want to be? What if I want to be with Fang?_

_**Tough.**_

I sighed and looked at the clock, seeing it was nine thirty. I clapped my hands together twice.

"Bedtime!" I called. All the kids groaned. They all hurried upstairs to their beds. Including Fang. So that left me and Dylan. I turned to him. "I said bedtime."

"I know. I just don't see any reason why you can't go to bed with me."

I scoffed. "Stick it in your ear."

"Aw...Don't be like that, babe."

"Don't call me that! I'm going to be with Fang and you can't do a thing about it!"

I turned to storm upstairs, but Dylan grabbed my wrist, spun me around, and kissed me. My eyes widened and I tried to scream, but his lips were pressed hard to mine. I tried to push him off me, but he had his arms around my waist so tight I thought I was going to explode.

"Stop that," he said against my lips. I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off by shoving his tongue into my mouth. Gross!

"Hey, Max," I heard Fang call from upstairs, but he stopped whatever he was gonna say. He must have seen what was going on. Dylan finally let go and, putting shoulder and body behind my fist, I punched him in the mouth, causing him to loose about three teeth, not to mention his consciousness. I wiped my mouth and turned to Fang, who was standing, paralyzed at the top of the stairs. He was staring in shock at me.

"Fang?"

"What was that?" he said.

"What do you mean, what was that?" I asked. Oh, yeah. I forgot my back was turned to him, so he must not have known that I was trying to get Dylan OFF me.

"You were kissing him!"

"Correction, he was kissing me, I was trying to get him OFF me."

"You could have if you wanted to."

"Actually, I hate to say it, but he's stronger than he looks. If it was that easy, I would have done it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go rinse my mouth."

I walked up the stairs to go to the bathroom, but Fang grabbed my wrist. I sighed. People really didn't want me to move today. I turned around to face him. He motioned for me to follow him to the last empty bedroom. I raised an eyebrow, but followed him. After all, I'd rather be alone with him than with Dylan. Much rather.

He let me inside, followed me, shut the door, and locked it. Okay, this was getting fishy. He turned around and I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry," he said, "It's not what you think."

"I don't even know what it is."

"Well, it's not anything...you know...sexual," he blushed, "I just thought I should tell you..."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, you know Dylan is supposedly your..."

"My soulmate," I sneered.

"Y-yeah..."

"So?"

"Well, I think...If you're meant to be with him...I have no use..."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up. Are you...leaving?" My eyes widened. He nodded.

"No!" I said, "You can't leave! I need you!"

"But Dylan's your-"

"No! I want _you_, Fang! Dylan can go to Hell for all I care! Please, please stay!"

I hated to beg, but if I was gonna get him to stay while Dylan was around...Why did Dylan have to exist?

"I'll stay. On one condition," he said.

"Anything!"

He hesitated before pulling out a small, black box. He opened it up and inside was a sliver ring with a moderately sized diamond in the middle and smaller ones surrounding it. Where'd he get that?

Oh, well. That didn't really matter. What mattered is I knew what he was gonna say next.

"Marry me."

Me and my big mouth. I bit my lower lip. Was this such a good idea?

"But, Fang, we're only 15."

"So?"

"Aren't we a little young?"

He smiled. "Age doesn't matter when you're in love."

The floor suddenly became very interesting to me.

If I married Fang, I'd be stuck with him for the rest of my life, which could be really long or really short. I wouldn't mind that so much, if I wasn't five years underage. Plus, Dylan and the voice would probably bug me about it for the rest of my life.

On the other hand, if I didn't, he would leave and I would be stuck with Dylan.

Ugh...Decisions, decisions.

Marry Fang five years early or get stuck with Dylan...

I looked up at Fang with a sad expression. He probably knew what I was gonna say.

"No."

He nodded sadly.

"I would," I said, "But I just...I can't."

He nodded again. "I know." He took the ring out of the box, took my right hand, and slipped it onto my ring finger.

"Keep this. So you'll remember me."

I nodded. A tear fell from my eye. He wiped it away, held me close, and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck. I was so glad he didn't try to shove his tongue half-way down my throat. I never wanted him to let me go.

So much for that sentiment. He broke away and looked into my eyes. He smiled slightly and then walked over to the window.

" Don't come after me. I love you," he said before jumping out and flying away.

I sat on my bed, the door still locked, and examined the ring Fang had given me. I tried to count how many facets were in the largest diamond, but I lost count after seven each time. They were so tiny. I took the ring off to look closer and noticed something that I hadn't noticed before. There was a small inscription inside the band. I looked closely and started crying again when I read the two words written in fancy print:

_My Angel_

I leaned back against the pillow, tears flowing. Why'd I let him go? I shouldn't have told him no. I loved him, I knew that. I was so stupid. I replayed the event in my head. Then, I switched it around and thought about what it would have been like if I had accepted his proposal. I knew it would never happen, but it's fun to dream.

My head was pulled out of the clouds by the sound of a knock on the door. I put the ring back on and called, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Angel's small, sweet voice called from the other side of the door. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

"Come in."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"The door's locked."

"Oh, yeah."

I got up, wiped my face on my sleeve, and let Angel in. Her bright blue eyes were looking straight into mine. I ushered her into the room and shut the door. I went and sat down next to her on my bed. She saw the ring on my hand. She took my hand and took a good look.

"Fang proposed to you?"

I nodded.

"Why did you tell him no?"

"Because all I could think was 'I'm too young.' I didn't think it would hurt this much to see him leave."

Normally, I wasn't like this unless I was alone, but I knew I could trust Angel. She nodded and let my hand go. She put her arms around me and I hugged her back.

"I came to ask why Dylan was out cold on the living room floor missing six teeth."

"Wow. I knocked out six of those things?"

"You hit him?"

"He shoved his tongue down my throat! And Fang saw it!"

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence before Angel said, "I think you should go to sleep."

I nodded. I kissed her forehead and sent her to bed. As soon as the door shut, I went to the window and called, "I _will_ find you, Fang! I'll find you and I'll marry you!"

I sighed. Why was I doing this? Why was I becoming all...mushy? All hearts and flowers? This thing with Fang being gone was really messing with me. I laid down in bed, closed my eyes, and imagined Fang laying next to me, his arms around me. I could almost feel his breath in my ear, and I could hear him saying, "I love you, Max."

That was my last thought before I went to sleep.

**A/N: Don't worry, I'll make more chapters. So, how was this one? Yes, Max is a bit OOC. Okay, a lot OOC. Don't get mad at me for making her say no. You can't get mad at me until you read the rest. Which I will post as soon as I can. Please REVIEW! Thanks and stay tuned for the next chapter! :)**


	2. Disaster Strikes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride and company. 'Nuff said.**

**A/N: ALERT! ALERT! Some content might or might not contain implied rape. I'm not sure if it counts or not...maybe help so I can decide if this is rated properly or not? Just PM or review and let me know your thoughts on that concept. Anyway, try to enjoy and NO FLAMES! I BEG OF YOU!

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**Chapter 2: Giving Up**

I woke up the next morning and the first thing I heard was the Voice.

_**You made a good choice.**_

_Did not._

_**You think I don't understand pain.**_

_Well, obviously, you don't._

_**I don't have to know pain to know that you're feeling it.**_

_Yeah, but you...Argh...you just don't understand..._

_**You're in love with Fang.**_

_Well spotted..._

_**You miss him.**_

_Well, duh._

_**You don't want to be with Dylan.**_

_Who do you think you are? Sherlock Holmes?_

_**Maybe if you try to pretend Dylan is Fang.**_

_Dylan will never be half the man Fang was!_

_**I'm just saying-**_

_GET OUT!_

_**Heh heh heh...**_

I sighed and got up out of bed, rubbing my temples. I took another good look at the engagement ring on my finger. I scowled, then took it off my finger. I slipped it onto the ring finger of my left hand. I'm pretty sure that's where engagement rings are supposed to go. I smiled at it. I got up and got dressed, heading downstairs.

Iggy was making breakfast, like always. Angel was staring intently at Dylan. I'm not sure why. Gazzy and Iggy were discussing their latest explosive idea. Angel didn't even have to look at me to talk to me. I heard her voice in my head.

**Weird things are going on in Dylan's head.**

I rolled my eyes. _Figures, _I thought. I knew she would hear me._ What are Gazzy and Iggy doing now?_

**Talking about figuring out a way to make a doughnut explosive. You know, looks like a doughnut, tastes like a doughnut, feels like one, etc.?**

_ Why?_

**They claim it's to defeat any bad guys they come across, like cops. They like doughnuts.**

_Does Dylan count as a bad guy?_

**No. He's too nice to Gazzy and Iggy.**

_Argh!_

I sat down as far from Dylan as I could, but, wouldn't you know it, he came up behind me and started massaging my shoulders. I tried to pretend he was Fang, but it didn't help that he was going a little too close to my busts.

I tried to focus on something else. I thought about how funny it was that Dylan thought his 'dirty thoughts' were private. He had no clue that Angel was invading his mind, taking in everything.

But the more I thought about it, the more I felt sorry for poor little Angel for having to see that. Who knows what kind of things Dylan thought about. Poor thing, her mind all invaded with porn.

**It's okay, **Angel said inside my mind, **I can forget it and remember it whenever I want.**

I nodded just enough for her to see. I brought my hands up and rubbed my temples. Dylan grabbed my left hand and examined the ring.

"What's this?"

I pulled my hand back and glared. "Mine."

**I thought you denied Fang's proposal.**

_I changed my mind._

**Oh. How're you going to let him know though?**

I was about to answer, but just then, Iggy put breakfast on the table: Scrambled eggs. I smiled. "Thanks, Ig."

"No problem. So, Dylan, how'd things go last night?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, you have no idea. Things were great, weren't they, Maxy?"

"Don't call me that."

"But you had fun, right?"

"If you're talking about me knocking out six of your flimsy little teeth, then yeah, I had fun."

Iggy looked at him and knit his eyebrows together.

"I thought you said that was from you and Max rolling off the bed."

"Say what?" I asked, starting to spoon some eggs onto my plate.

"Dylan was just telling us," Gazzy said, shoving eggs into his mouth, "That you and him had a little...alone time last night."

I raised an eyebrow, then dropped my fork as realization dawned on me. I turned to Dylan, my eyes flaming.

"Ohh, no, you did _not_!"

Dylan smirked. I pursed my lips, stood up, and went behind him. I put my hands on his back and pushed him up the stairs.

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I shut the door and turned to Dylan.

"You did NOT just tell them that!"

Dylan raised his eyebrows and walked forward until he was practically on top of me. "Oh?"

I blushed. My voice seemed to escape me, and my heartbeat sped up by, like, fifty beats per minute. It was going so fast that I almost couldn't feel it beating. It went even faster when Dylan put his hands on my waist. I felt my face heat up as he took advantage of my sudden inability to do anything and started slowly moving his hands slowly downward. Okay, he was getting a little too close now.

A lot too close.

I glared at him. "Stop."

"Why?" He didn't stop.

"You touch that, and you'll be singing soprano," I threatened. He took my shoulders and threw me on the bed, locked the door, then leaped on top of me.

"I'll be singing your name in soprano," he said, pinning my arms to my sides. I was terrified now.

"Ungh..._Help!_" I screamed. _"Hel-"_

Dylan covered my mouth with his hand. I heard someone trying to open the door. Dylan looked away for a second.

"Gazzy!" I heard Angel yell from the other side of the door, "Iggy! _Help!_"

I took my now freed hand and punched him in the head. I got up and hurried to the door, but Dylan grabbed my wrist and pressed my back tightly against his chest. I gasped as I felt something I'm never going to forget. I lifted up my feet, kicked, and screamed. He put his hand back over my mouth. I heard Iggy's voice from the other side of the door.

"Stand back!"

I kicked Dylan in his...then hurried to the other side of the room just as an explosion sounded. Small pieces of wood flew around the room as an explosive went off on the other side. I could have sworn I heard someone yell, "Max!" as I was thrown to the floor and knocked out cold.

The last thing I saw was a tall, dark figure looking at me.

Fang?

Then, all went black.

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"Aah!" I screamed as I jolted into a sitting position. I looked around and got really confused.

Nothing had changed from last night. I was sitting in bed. The door was still there. There were no shards of wood on the floor. Fang's engagement ring was still on my finger. I took it and slipped it onto the ring finger of my left hand. Then, I remembered my dream last night. I, instead, slipped it into my pocket.

After I got dressed, I headed downstairs. I was the only one there. All except one small, slim figure.

"Angel?" I asked.

"Hi, Max."

I looked at the clock, then back at Angel.

"What are you doing up?" I asked. "It's four in the morning."

"I saw what you were dreaming," Angel answered, "And I thought I should tell you something important."

"What is it?" I asked, kneeling in front of her. I noticed tears welling up in her bright blue eyes. She leaned in and whispered in my ear. I gasped. My lower lip quivered as she continued. Tears rolled down my face. I held the small girl in my arms and we both started crying.

"Oh, my little Angel..."

_Please, God, _I thought, _Please, let _this_ be the bad dream and not what happened last night!

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**A/N: What'd you think? Be honest, but be nice. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can! Thanks and Stay Tuned!**


	3. Awkward, But Definitely Not Silent

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.

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**Chapter 3: Awkward, But Definitely Not Silent**

As I held my little Angel closer, I heard someone else coming downstairs. Turning, I saw the last person I wanted to see.

"What's going on here?" D— I won't even bother to say his name— asked. "What's wrong?"

I glared at him, "_You're _what's wrong, you _bastard!_"

"Hey!"

"Don't you _hey _me, mister! It's wrong, what you did!"

"What did I-"

"Don't!"

"Don't what? What is _wrong _with you, Max?"

"That's what I should be asking _you!_ Only...without the Max..."

"What's going _on, _Max? Maybe I can help."

"You can't help."

"Is it because your boyfriend left?"

"I-" I wasn't able to respond. More tears flowed. "Don't bring up Fang," I said quietly.

"It is. Face it, Max, you belong to me!"

I stood faster than light. "_I don't belong to ANYONE! Least of all YOU!_"

"But you're my-"

_"I AM NOT!"_

_ "QUIT YELLING!"_

_ "NO!_"

"Max! Please!"

Both of us shut up immediately upon hearing Iggy's voice. Looking at him, we saw him, blind eyes half-closed with sleep, on top of the stairs.

"I may be blind, but I'm not deaf, you know! Plus, you're gonna emotionally scar little Angel!"

"It's a little late for that!" I exclaimed, looking directly at _him _when I said it.

"What are you talking about, Max?" he asked, enunciating each word carefully.

"You know darn well what I'm talking about."

"You need sleep, Max," he told me, "it's ten after four."

"I can't sleep. I'll have nightmares. Of you."

And it turned out I was right. I couldn't go to sleep until five am every night, and when I finally closed my eyes, I had visions. Visions of a door. It was locked, and what was worse is I always knew what was behind it. Sometimes it was Angel, tears streaming down her face as she faced her horrible fate. Sometimes it was Fang, beckoning me to him. Only when it was Dylan behind the door was the door unlocked. And when it was, he dragged me into the room, locked the door, and threw me on the bed, pinning me down hard.

But what was worst was the tongues. Dylan's tongue was always somewhere on my body, usually in my mouth or on my neck, but sometimes, it was in very uncomfortable places that I won't mention for fear of emotionally scarring any of my readers.

But the very worst part was the voices. I could hear them through the door, the ones I loved. Every insult we had ever exchanged sounded loud and clear in my head. I heard Fang beckoning, sometimes I heard him telling me that I belonged with Dylan. I could hear Angel crying and begging for help. I wanted to escape. But I found that difficult. I was having trouble deciding the difference between my dreams and reality.

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**A/N: What'd ya think? It was short, yeah, but I do what I can. Please REVIEW! Thanks and stay tuned!**


	4. Escape

**Disclaimer: Read Book 3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. If Max and Fang are not married by Chapter 15 (Or whatever chapter it is that they kiss in), I do not own Maximum Ride.**

**A/N: So sorry it's been months since I updated, but I was trying to think of what to write next. But, still, here it is. Fluffiness ahead!

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**Chapter 4: Escape**

It was on the seventh day that I had these dreams...or maybe they were reality...that I finally lost my mind enough to run. I just leaped out the window of my bedroom, in the middle of the night, without a second thought, I didn't even think about the others, Iggy and _him _and Gazzy and...Angel.

I had forgotten to think about Angel until it was already too late. I had been flying mindlessly for about two days. I was already probably a hundred million miles away from home when I remembered that I had left my poor Angel with _him!_

I was about to turn around and fly back to my home, to save Angel, when something else caught my eye. All around me were red-orange hills, caves and sage plants all around. There was a flock of hawks not far off. It was then that I realized I was back in Arizona. Looking back at the hawks, I noticed a familiar cave, with a ledge outside the entrance...and a tall, dark figure standing on it, wings spread.

"Fang!" I yelled desperately, flying as fast as I could toward him. I had to tell him about this, to get him to come back.

To tell him I loved him.

_**Go back...back to Dylan...back to Angel...**_

"Fang!" I yelled again through the echoing Voice, speeding up. Now that I could get a clear look at his face, I could see that he had it turned toward me.

"Max?" He called out.

"Fang!" I landed on the ledge in front of him and threw my arms around him. "Oh, Fang, I missed you!"

"Max...I thought I told you not to come after me," he said, wrapping his strong arms around me anyway. The familiar warmth soothed me.

"You did. I didn't come after you, though. I just...kinda...ran away."

"You left everyone else there?" he asked me incredulously.

"Well..."

"Max, you can't just leave them there!"

"Fang, you don't know what I've been through!"

"Come on, we have to go back," he started to pull me away, but I pulled him back. I knew it was hopeless, he _was _about seventeen times stronger than me, but I kept trying.

"Fang, no! Don't leave me again! I love you!"

He stopped and looked back at me.

"You...you what?"

I let go of his wrist, pulled the engagement ring he had given me out of my pocket, and slowly slipped it onto the third finger of my left hand. Then, I looked back up at him, putting my hands on his shoulders and kissing him, confident that he wouldn't stick his tongue in my mouth.

I pulled away after what seemed like weeks, and Fang was holding me tight, looking at me confusedly.

"Max?"

I curled up into his chest.

"I love you, Fang."

He sighed and rubbed my back. "I love you, too, Max."

As he held me, I completely forgot about the colorful nothingness around me, and the hawks crying loudly in the sky. I completely forgot about everything, including Angel. I had completely and entirely escaped from reality. Or, maybe it was _to _reality, I still couldn't tell.

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**A/N: Please R&R! Next chapter will probably be the last one, just a warning.**


	5. Truth Will Out

**Disclaimer: *Sigh* I don't want to say it..._Mini-demon inside me: She does_...I won't say it..._not own_...NNNOOOOO!..._Maximum Ride._ Damn...**

**A/N: Okay, peeps, here's the final chapter! This is where you get to find out that little secret I've been hiding for the past four chapters...;-)**

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**Chapter 5: Truth Will Out (That IS how it goes, right?)**

As I cuddled with Fang on the ledge outside the cave, I heard something through the buzzing in my head. A flapping. I looked over Fang's shoulder and saw a group of little black dots flying toward us. As they got large, I noticed they were...people. Part-bird people. And at the front of the flock was _him_.

I glared and gently pushed away from Fang, facing the oncoming flock. He turned in the same direction I was facing.

_He _landed on the ledge in front of the formation, followed by Nudge, Gazzy, and...

"Angel!" I cried. She and I started toward each other, but _he _held her back. And Fang held me back.

"Don't go near him," Fang told me, at the same time that _he _told Angel, "Don't go near her; she abandoned you, remember?"

He looked back at her and she nodded quickly, showing complete submission...and fear. I growled.

"Don't hold me back, Fang," I said, "I need to finish something."

While Fang was looking at me like I'd just lost my mind, I walked up to _him _and looked in his eyes and felt his breath on my face when he said, "So, what is it you need to finish?" He smirked.

"I need to get my revenge," I said dramatically.

"Ooh, a challenge," he said, "Well, I don't wanna hit a girl or nothin', but-"

BANG!

Putting shoulder and body behind my fist, I hit him right square in the face. That would have been the end of it, if he hadn't knocked my feet from underneath me and sent me spiraling off the edge of the cliff. The terrified screams of the others faded quickly as I plummeted towards the ground. Finally, I came to grips with what was happening and I unfurled my wings. Which, by the way, hurt _a lot. _I got past the stinging and soared back upward, where I met _him_, who had evidently been coming down after me. He stopped and looked at me.

"Max! Are you okay? I really didn't mean to-"

I shot skyward at near 150 mph, lifting my foot and kicking him in the face in the process. Rocketing back down to hit him on the head, I noticed that the rest of the group had gathered around to watch the fight. I was about to smack him right square on the top of his head, but he, quick as a flash, grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

"What the hell was that for!"

I used my free wrist to smack him across the face, which was covered in blood from his nose, which I had apparently broken. "_That _was for kicking me off that ledge!" I yelled. I punched him in the right temple. "_That _was for walking into my life and _ruining it!_" I yelled louder.

I forced my right hand from his grasp and readied myself for the hardest hit I could muster. "And _this,_" I screamed at the top of my lungs, "is for _touching my ANGEL!_"

There was a loud _CRACK _and _he _went plummeting to the ground. Seeing the craggy rocks near the ground, all my rage evaporated, and I rocketed down to grab him by his wrist and flap my wings furiously, trying to hold his deadweight. Fang came down and gave me a hand, grabbing _his _other wrist. Gazzy and Nudge flew down and grabbed each of his legs, but Angel just hovered above the ledge, a sad but relieved look on her face. The four of us laid him down gently down on the ground. Consumed by anger again, I growled at his body, "And don't you try to come back!"

The four of us flew back up and gave Angel, who had tears in her eyes, a group hug.

"You don't have to worry anymore," I said gently. "You're safe now." I smiled at her.

And, for the first time in almost two weeks, she smiled back.

And I realized for the first time in almost two weeks exactly where reality was.

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**A/N: Well, there's the ending, everyone! Hope you liked it.**


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